World Briefs: Thai protests turn deadly

February 23, 2014 11:36 PM

Compiled from news services

BANGKOK -- Three people were killed, including two children , and more than 50 injured at anti-government protests in Thailand over the weekend as the country's protracted power struggle gave rise to more violence.

Two attacks -- one Saturday in an eastern province bordering Cambodia and the second Sunday in one of the busiest shopping areas of Bangkok -- were carried out with what the authorities said were military-grade weapons, including grenades.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra condemned the attacks as "terrorist acts for political gains," while protesters issued a statement saying the attacks were an attempt to justify the continuation of emergency security measures imposed last month. Protest leaders said the government would be "soon destroyed by the hands of the great mass of people."

The protest movement, which is seeking to overthrow Ms. Yingluck's administration and appoint an interim government, is allied with shadowy armed groups that fought gun battles with the police last week

Pakistan bombing kills 14

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A bomb planted at a busy bus terminal near a police station in northwest Pakistan exploded Sunday, killing 14 people and wounding 15 near the country's lawless tribal region, authorities said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though Kohat has seen past attacks by local Taliban fighters and allied sectarian groups against its minority Shiite population, which has a presence in the city and its outskirts.

Local Taliban militants have killed tens of thousands of Pakistanis in a bloody war against the state.

G-20 vows $2T boost

SYDNEY -- Finance chiefs from the 20 largest economies agreed Sunday to implement policies that will boost world GDP by more than $2 trillion over the coming five years.

The world economy has sputtered since the 2008 financial crisis and global recession that followed. Progress in returning economic growth to pre-crisis levels has been hampered by austerity policies in Europe, high unemployment in the U.S. and a cooling of China's torrid expansion.

Anti-government demonstrations are in their second week after jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez's Voluntad Popular party Feb. 12 organized marches to speak out against rising crime, the world's fastest inflation and shortages of everything from milk to medicine. The protests have turned violent on a nightly basis as police clash with students, resulting in at least eight deaths.

Estonia's Ansip to resign

TALLINN, Estonia -- Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Europe's longest-serving head of government, announced Sunday that he will resign before the end of his term to improve his Reform Party's chances of winning the March 2015 general election.

An avid cross-country skier and cyclist, Mr. Ansip steered the Baltic nation through its worst recession on record in 2008-2009, when economic output shrank by a fifth. He imposed austerity measures exceeding 10 percent of gross domestic product to guide the country into the euro area in 2011 as the first former Soviet republic to join.